The IHF Council gathered for the first time at the newly inaugurated IHF House in Basel on 6 May 2026, and marked the occasion with a series of landmark decisions, including the awarding of two prestigious events that will further enrich the global handball calendar in the months ahead.

Spain will host the 4th IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship, scheduled to take place from 14 to 21 September 2026 in Granollers, a city with a deep and proud handball culture, which also hosted the final of the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games, as well as the final of the 2021 IHF Women’s World Championship.

The event will bring together the world's best wheelchair handball nations in one of Europe's most passionate handball environments, continuing the IHF's commitment to the development and visibility of para-handball on the world stage.

This will also be the first edition of the event which takes place in Europe, with the previous two Four-a-Side wheelchair handball World Championship editions taking place in Egypt.

Meanwhile, Morocco has been awarded the hosting rights for another major IHF event in October 2026 in Agadir, with matches set to be played at the Al Inbiaat Hall, which boasts a capacity of approximately 10,000 spectators.

The IHF Women’s U16 World Championship, in its inaugural edition, will look to build upon the success of the inaugural IHF Men's U17 World Championship, held in Morocco in October 2025, proved to be an outstanding success, with Germany claiming the inaugural title in a breathtaking final against Egypt, 44:43 after overtime, in front of passionate crowds in Casablanca.

Following directly in the footsteps of the Men's U17 edition, this new competition represents a pivotal moment in the development of women's handball, expanding the global competition pyramid and offering the sport's most promising young female talents a world championship platform for the very first time. Twelve teams from six continental confederations are expected to compete, with qualification pathways already in place across Asia, Europe and the Americas.